Lifestyle Travel Writers Dave and Kathy Hunter set down Southern roots SOUTHERN GARDENING Learning the Art of Dave Hunter is the award-winning author of “Along I-75” and “Along Florida’s Expressways” the quintessential guides for those driving to and in Florida. With his researcher wife, Kathy, he enjoys travelling with history, gathering unusual andmysterious local stories. The Hunters winter in Lakeland, Florida. I love gardening. Coming home to Ontario in the spring is always a joy. Our sixfoot-high, brick-walled garden has its own micro-climate and the roses are already beginning to bud. It’s our “piece of heaven” based on a 16th-century country garden theme so, as soon as we arrive, it’s time to remove winter debris, groom the beds, “muck out” the pond and get ready for summer plantings. But this is fine for six months of the year. As a snowbird, I also wanted to have a tropical southern garden so, when it came to buying a home in Florida, we looked for one with lots of garden space… a place to build our dream. We wanted a citrus grove and tropical colourful plants such as azalea, bougainvillea, hibiscus and, of course, palm trees. Gateway into our northern 16th-century garden. 34 | www.snowbirds.org
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